Marylanders Grow Oysters Program Continues to Expand in 2012

Annapolis, Md. (August 14, 2012) ─ Seven new tributaries are now
a part of the
Marylanders Grow Oysters program for 2012, adding even more momentum to the
extremely popular and well received citizen oyster growing initiative. Each
year, the program accepts applications from groups of community members near
tributaries wishing to join the effort. This year there were seven applicants,
all of which were accepted. The new areas are: Bodkin, Oyster, Pope’s, and Crab
Alley creeks, Little Choptank and Rhode rivers, and Swan Cove in Harris Creek.

“Now in its fifth year, Marylanders Grow Oysters has grown tremendously since
2008, from 1 tributary to 24 last year,” said Program Manager Chris Judy. “The
program’s continued success is made possible thanks to the local coordinators
and all of the growers who volunteer to raise these oysters during their first
year of life.”

The new applicants will begin growing oysters this September once the spat (baby
oysters) are available from the University of Maryland hatchery. The Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Oyster Recovery Partnership will
then deliver cages and spat so the growers can begin their role as oyster
caretakers.

Through the Marylanders Grow Oysters Program, volunteer growers tend to the
young oysters held in wire mesh cages suspended from private piers. The oysters
require minimal care – mostly rinsing the cages every two weeks. After about
nine months, the oysters are removed from the cages and planted in a sanctuary,
an area closed to harvest. A new group of young oysters is then distributed to
participating growers to start the process again. Citizen oyster growers enjoy
the personal rewards of stewardship and learning about oysters, while
contributing to the enhancement of an oyster reef.

Governor Martin O’Malley launched Marylanders Grow Oysters in 2008 as part of
the State’s Smart Green and Growing
initiative. The program began with about 900 oyster cages, cared for by 170
growers, along the Tred Avon River. DNR expanded the program with various oyster
partners and now about 7,500 cages, tended by approximately 1,500 growers, are
located in 24 tributaries. Last year, citizen volunteers raised more than 2
million new oysters that were planted in sanctuaries throughout Maryland waters.
The new growers will further add to this effort once they receive their spat and
cages.

The Marylanders Grow Oysters Program is managed by DNR in conjunction with the
Oyster Recovery Partnership, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science, which produces the majority of the spat, and the Maryland Department of
Public Safety and Correctional Services, where inmates assist with building
cages and spat production.

“Oyster reefs are one of the most endangered habitats on the planet, so every
oyster plays a role in restoring the Chesapeake Bay,” said Stephan Abel,
executive director of the Oyster Recovery Partnership. “The Marylanders Grow
Oysters program provides an effective tool to connect the public with the
importance of oyster restoration in the Chesapeake and the life it sustains.”

In February, Governor Martin O’Malley announced another landmark in the State’s
ongoing efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay’s native oyster population.
Results of Maryland’s 2011 Fall Oyster Survey show the highest survival rate for
oysters since 1985. The 92 percent survival rate — the percentage of oysters
found alive in a sample — builds upon last year’s strong spatset (number of baby
oysters), which was the highest since 1997.